There's a good chance I may have the opportunity to work on the Phoenix mission starting this summer. I'm pretty jazzed. It's going to be an exciting mission!

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My first space mission!

You'll be working on a mars mission and you're allowed full rover resources?

Seriously, I hope you will be allowed to work on it! (then we'll have our man "in", could be useful!) =D>

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To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

Heheh, I didn't even realize how that sounded when I wrote it.

Well, I'm pretty sure I'll be involved somehow, I'm not sure how. I'm just getting ready to start a PhD program at the University of Arizona, and just after I finish course work Phoenix is scheduled for launch. I'm hoping to get a dissertation out of some of the data coming back. At the moment I'm leaning towards something exobiology oriented

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My first space mission!

What am I, chopped liver?

That's great! I would be jealous if you get to work on that project.

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Bamf -- your post indicates you have responsibilities to JPL. Is this true, and if so, what do you do?

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http://boinc.mundayweb.com/one/stats...033/prj:6/.png

Bamf is (or was - his responsibilities may have changed by now) the software manager at Arizona State for the THEMIS instrument on Mars Odyssey.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

I believe "Thorn In Hoagland's Side" is part of his job description as well.

He also has the distinct honor (in the august company of our own ToSeek) of having a screen name that can be used as a verb:
Ironic J'accuse Dept.:(from the linked article)
edited for clarity and to add quote

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Lyford Rome
"Zis is not nuts, zis is super-nuts!"
Mathematician Richard Courant on viewing an Orion test

Hey Bamf, Hypersonic and any other present or future JPL employees, how about slipping in the suggestion to land Phoenix on the Elysium pack ice instead of the polar region 8) Is Phoenix able to drill down into the soil?

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http://www.marsgeo.com/

Hi Bamf! Cool to hear you're working on space missions too! I don't recall any post of you, so I didn't know about it. 2 men "in" is better than one! 8) (And then there's sts60, and I suppose others as well).

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To the regular visitor of internet bulletin boards it is clear that it's an excellent idea your parents get to choose your real name.

hehe......maybe thats what Hoagie wants you to be....I think you had a bit too much fun with him over Cydonia back in....what was it....2001? Intentional or not, it produced one of the most brilliant moments of Hoagie's self-relevation....I still remember him screaming: "Hold her steady as she goes!!!", signing off as the Captain. Even though I guess he forgot to put in James T. Kirk there, I should definitely add as a Captain of a ship of fools (do I get banned for using such a word here?)

Anyhow, I just wanted to point out that people do remember bamf

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"Its full of stars!"

Well it just so happens that the landing site selection process is going to start in the summer about the time I arrive at LPL (the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, part of U of A), so I'll mention it :wink: However, I think it's likely to be in a location in the north polar region that's very high in water ice content.

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My first space mission!

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Phoenix Mars Lander: Getting Down and Dirty On the Red Planet

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

The thing will fail on landing

What leads you to that conclusion?

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"A mystic is a person who is puzzled before the obvious but who understands the nonexistent." -- Elbert Hubbard

For someone really pushing for accelerated exploration, you seem pretty pessimistic about this one.

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Forming opinions as we speak

its kinda a stupid mission

Care to expound on this? This is not much of a reason.

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"A mystic is a person who is puzzled before the obvious but who understands the nonexistent." -- Elbert Hubbard

All it does is stand in the same place

If you land in an interesting enough place, you don't need to go anywhere else.

Just as long as all agree to use the same measuring system.

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Keeper of the Jabberwock

So? Why does that makes it stupid? Were the Viking and Surveyor missions stupid because they stayed in one place?

Phoenix is a low-cost mission reusing parts from the cancelled Mars Surveyor Program and is meant to complement other major missions. We've never been to the poles of Mars and this should give us a good introduction. There are 7 different instruments that will be used to collect data for the nominal 3 month mission.

Knowledged gained from this mission will point to where we should concentrate future polar missions.

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"A mystic is a person who is puzzled before the obvious but who understands the nonexistent." -- Elbert Hubbard

Yes but this does not point out that no man could eat fifty eggs

not

I think you're losing us here (at least me).

At this point in planetary exploration, no mission is a stupid mission. There is so much that can be learned. Why so negative on this one?

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I have returned!
...
Um, I guess no one noticed I was gone.

PHoenix is stupid they should have called it YOUR MOM

Bye bye and good riddance.

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"The bread's hollowed out --- the veggies go on forever --- and --- oh my God! --- it's full of meat!" - Maksutov

what??

You're insulting everyone here with your childish behavior. It will probably get you banned. Even if you're younger act a little more professional in this forum could you?

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"The bread's hollowed out --- the veggies go on forever --- and --- oh my God! --- it's full of meat!" - Maksutov

what you guys cant take a joke relax man